Daniel Wiznia

Interests:

Dr. Daniel Wiznia is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science who specializes in avascular necrosis and osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Dr. Wiznia is the Department of Orthopaedic's Director of Technology and Innovation and Associate Vice Chair of Research. In these roles, he leads and coordinates efforts in the use and development of technology and innovation in education, research and clinical care. Examples include robotics and navigation, the use of 3D modeling, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, as well as patient care platforms to coordinate efforts across the department in the use of surgical advances in innovation.

Dr. Wiznia co-teaches ME/BME404: Medical Device Design & Innovation with Professor Steven Tommasini. Dr. Wiznia teaches why medical devices fail and partners with physicians to tackle clinical problems with safe and effective medical devices. This course serves to translate research and engineering innovations into the clinical setting.

Dr. Wiznia co-directs Yale's Masters Program in Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering.

As the Co-Director of Yale's Avascular Necrosis Program, utilizing 3D technology, Dr. Wiznia is currently developing several custom personalized surgical techniques in the field of avascular necrosis. These include utilizing autologous stem cells to target osteonecrosis / avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Wiznia has developed research programs in total joint replacement, musculoskeletal healthcare disparities, and injury prevention. His findings have been reported in many professional peer reviewed publications, and his research has been presented at regional and national meetings. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a fellow of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, a member of the American Orthopaedic Association and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Dr. Wiznia is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Dr. Wiznia and his research collaborator, Professor Steven Tommasini, PhD, are recruiting PhD candidates and post-docs for their lab. The PhD candidates will be able to collaborate with clinicians within the Department of Orthopaedics, including Dr. Lisa Lattanza, Dr. John Fulkerson, Dr. Daniel Cooperman, Dr. David Frumberg, Dr. Michael Leslie, and Dr. Dieter Lindskog.

EXTENSIVE RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:

Joint Reconstruction

Dr. Wiznia's arthroplasty research program focuses on improving the postoperative treatment of patients by focusing on reducing surgical site infections, improving pain management techniques, refining DVT prophylaxis and examining the treatment of periprosthetic infections. He has published multiple case reports focusing on solutions to complex arthroplasty. Dr. Wiznia is developing robotic- and computer-navigated total joint replacement surgery techniques. Additional studies examine primary care physician and patient perspectives on the cost of total joint replacements, as well as patient access to total joint replacement care.

Healthcare Policy

Dr. Wiznia examines patient disparities in access to care. Specifically, he examines how the Affordable Care Act has influenced Medicaid patient access to care. His team uses appointment accessibility audit studies, what some people term "secret shopper" studies, as an instrument to measure patient access to care. His team has demonstrated that Medicaid patients face a disparity in access to care, which has worsened since the Affordable Care Act. He has found that significantly fewer physicians accept Medicaid, there are more barriers to care placed on Medicaid patients, wait times are significantly longer, and safety net institutions (such as academic medical centers, federally funded community health centers, nonprofit and government hospitals) have higher Medicaid acceptance rates. His team has a long history of mentoring Yale undergraduate students, medical students and residents, and we have collaborated with multiple departments within the School of Medicine.

Injury Prevention

Dr. Wiznia's research focuses on motorcycle and motor vehicle trauma patients. He examines motorcycle trauma patients’ risk factors with the ultimate goal of reducing the number and severity of motorcycle accidents. In addition, he is examining the costs of treating these patients and identifying motorcycle trauma injury patterns and associated mechanisms of injury.